Egypt's Railway Department Chief Resigns After Deadly Train Collision

Egypt's Transport Minister Hesham Arafat accepted on Sunday the resignation of Medhat Shousha, the chief of the country's railway department, two days after a deadly trains’ collision near Alexandria.

CAIRO (Sputnik) — The minister made this statement at a press conference held at cabinet ministers' meeting. According to Arafat, the government will pay special attention to the development of transport industry and raising qualification of its employees.

On Friday, two trains collided in the suburbs of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. One of the trains was traveling from Cairo, and the other from Port Said. As a result of the collision, several cars derailed and overturned. According to the country’s Health Ministry, over 40 people died and over 170 were injured.

Earlier in the day, eight railway officials were suspended, while prosecutors in Alexandria have ordered the 15-day detention of the drivers of the two trains, according to local media.

According to local authorities, a mistake by the operator of a semaphore caused the accident. Egypt's Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadiq ordered an urgent investigation into the collision.

There have been a number of mass casualty train accidents in Egypt in recent years mainly due to the poor condition of transport infrastructure. In 2013, a train derailment in Giza killed 19 people, while in 2012, a train collision with a school bus in the city of Manfalut killed 51 people, mostly children.

According to World Health Organization, Egypt annually losses about 12,000 lives due to road traffic crashes.

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